Kitchen Mural

This must be my lucky week; first I finished the silver vase painting and tonight I finally wrapped up the mural (I started in August) in my kitchen. Where the spurt of energy came from, I have no idea, but I'm thrilled to have a clean slate to start next week off with! Maybe it'll be a 2 week lucky streak.

Working with acrylics sitting inside the sink made for a tough project. Not my medium, not an easy posture to paint from. However, it's done and I can finally get the painting gear out of the kitchen. No procrastinators here, uh uh!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Bouquet

Finished, FINALLY finished! I may hack off the top 3 inches, but that'd be all I'd be willing to do. This has taken ages and I'm thrilled to be done.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

When the Work Gets Too Precious

Does your work ever get so 'precious' that you lose sight of its importance? I lost perspective on this one and got so wrapped up in perfection that I stopped enjoying it. So I quit working on it, have stayed too busy to spend time on it and began to dread picking up my brushes. Silly, right?

This morning a good friend and artist associate, Andra Jensen, gave me some great advice. She said, "#1 Lower your expectations. I get stuck like that all the time. It often has to do with my expectations. You might be holding in your heart that it has to be one of your favorites ever, or a masterpiece, where it might help calm you to think of it as a study, or an academic/practice piece. (You could always cut it up later.) It might not be your favorite, but I can pretty surely guarantee it will be someone else's."

Oh. Of course. She is exactly right. And so, work will continue and all will be well with the world again. Thanks, Andra!

And thank you for stopping by- Alice

Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay Inks

Several weeks ago I purchased a set of Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay Inks on a whim. As much as I've loved using black ink in under-paintings, I thought I'd give a colored ink under-painting a try. Yesterday was the day to give the idea a go.

The flower shape I was working on needed to be a bright, in-your-face red. Using deep red makes shadow areas harder to define so I did an underpainting with the Bombay shade, "Aqua," a nearly viridian shade of  green. It worked out beautifully. The ink was smooth, easy to use and dilute and accepted paint over the top well. I think it's a technique I'll be using again.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

Painting Silver

Begun today, full sheet and fun!

The Old Home Place

Procrastination is one of my strengths- I'm fairly skilled at it. Case in point: my uncle asked me a looong time ago to paint the ranch house he and his 11 siblings grew up in, sending a photo along with his request. As soon as I saw the picture, I went into procrastination-full-power mode and put it on the back burner. The very far back burner. Painting someone's memories is scary, folks, and this old photo didn't give me much to go on!

Finally, this week I decided I'd better just get going. Sigh... Over the last few days my Dad got quite a few phone calls from me as I've tried to work out the details. (Possibly the toughest sketch I've ever done) Fortunately, Dad loved living out on the ranch and was able to give me lots of help. All that's left to do now is deliver it to my uncle on Monday and hope it fulfills his expectations. And swear to myself that I won't put things like this off ANYMORE. Really!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Autumn Hollyhocks, a Journal Page

We are staying at my sister's house before the next stage of our journey home from Alaska and Canada. Her hollyhocks are frozen back and browning, but the ends of the stalks are still flowering. Life strives on and it's beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

O, Canada

One of the fun parts of travel is sketching what I see. We are currently driving down the Alcan Highway from Alaska, through Canada and home again. The road is pretty bad in many stretches which makes painting in the car tricky. However, the jumpy lines and paint splotches are part of the memories.

Below Glenwood

Finished, and feeling better about painting now!  Though I'm not an expert landscape artist, I'm a learning one.

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Below Glenwood
Watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper
14" × 20"

Try, Try Again

Recently I tried a landscape that had been lurking in the back of my mind for months- and totally bombed it. I have a knack for this, as you'll know if you've been following me for long. I can ruin a landscape faster than most people can spill their milk. It's a gift.

Today I decided I'd better crawl back out of the hole of shame and give it another go. This is a favorite spot of mine on the road that winds up the western side of New Mexico. One goes around a sharp curve and- bam- there you are, smack in front of bluffs that never look the same as the last time you were here. The light is ever changing and filled with drama. It always catches me by surprise.

Posting successfully on Blogger from a phone is mostly a matter of luck, but I'll try to put the shot of progress on today's work and last week's disappointment, too. And thanks for stopping by! Alice

Blossom as the Rose

Hooray, another painting done and it's only Monday!  This 9" × 12" format goes fast.

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

By Their Fruits

For wanting to get a painting done a week this summer, I've sure gotten behind on my goal!  However, I got one done this week, and it felt great.

By Their Fruits
8.5" × 11.5"
Watercolor on paper

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Working in Tandem

This week I decided to work small. My schedule lately hasn't fit too well with large pieces, and these are easier to work on in small periods of time. My husband made a bamboo cutting board that warped a little bit while building some cabinets recently and I was happy to take it off of his hands. It's the perfect size for two 9" x 12" pieces of watercolor paper and just right for what I'm doing. While one dries, I can work on the other. Having fun here!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Learn The Rules, Break The Rules

In my earliest watercolor lessons I learned the 'rules' of using watercolor. One of those was NO BLACK. Don't have it in your palette,  don't buy it, don't use it. Black kills watercolor's color. Of course, a few years in I needed a very dark background and decided just to use black. I reasoned it would be fine if it were a total blackout. Well, it didn't and I ruined a painting because I didn't understand the properties of black yet. 

You can see how the black looks dull and ruins any vibrancy the colors have achieved

Knowing the rules is an important part of learning to use your medium. They give structure and save one from disasters. However, once you know the rules and feel confident with your tools, you have the freedom of breaking those rules to suit your own purposes. That's valuable.

Putting color over the black changes everything

You can see from the photos I've attached that the black really did totally kill the colors of the flower shapes. However, knowing that I'd need to block the white of my paper to get the dark value I wanted, I decided to use black. The phthalo blue still shows on top of it, but now the light can't show through and lighten it. The black has become a tool in my painting kit instead of a mess-making no no. Know the rules,  learn to abide by them, then discard them on purpose to achieve what you want.  Cool, huh. 

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

Orange Poppies, Complete

This baby is finished. Now I'm off to hunt down clean sheets of cardboard to ship it to its new home. I enjoyed it, may even paint more poppies one day.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

Orange Poppies
Watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper
22" × 30"

Painting the Poppies, Again..

Today is poppy day at the Webb house. Here is the first poppy shape getting color. It's a full sheet of watercolor paper so that's one giant blossom, but it has been pretty fun to do so far. We shall see, though... if anyone can bungle this it would be me. To be continued-

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

Poppies, Take 2 or Drawing Up

Recently I tried a poppy painting that flopped in a big, over-painted way. Since this is a commission, it's been weighing heavily on my mind for the past 2 or 3 weeks. It's time to try again.

To get what I wanted, I drew a small sketch of what I wanted it to look like, then traced the lines I wanted to keep. Then it was time to translate those lines onto the watercolor sheet. I divided both the tracing and the full sheet into quarters, then drew what was in each quarter of the tracing onto the paper. With organic shapes I find this to be the easiest method for me. Now it's ready for the fun part.

Hopefully I'll be more hesitant to paint this one to death!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

White Mountain Morning

We are back in the White Mountains of Arizona this weekend. This is my new favorite camping spot as the views from our camper are spectacular each morning. Today, I knew what I'd paint as soon as I woke up. The bright morning colors and long shadows were too much to resist. 

This afternoon we spent picking gooseberries for a jam experiment which I'll post more about later. Its veen a pretty good day!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

White Mountain Morning, 10" × 7"

Watercolor Sketch, Arizona White Mountains

We are hiding from the heat in the White Mountains of Arizona this weekend. Miraculously, we have a good phone signal. July is monsoon season in the southwest and the storms can be fantastic in the afternoons, so I got up early to find a spot to get a bit of painting in today. I may have to put this in a studio piece sometime. So many shades of green this time of year!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

The Poppies Run Amok

Yesterday I spent an entire day ruining a painting.  Nobody can do this with more determination and singleness of mind than me.  Thankfully I do it less often now, but I'm beginning to see a pattern here.  When I take on something that I'm intimidated by, like, let's just say flower petals, for example, I push and push till I've made a mess. Most of the time I can remember to step back and let the problem work itself out in the back of my mind, but not yesterday.  Yesterday I had a memory lapse and forgot to step back.  Again.

Off to a great start!

The worst part of doing this to myself is the way I feel afterward.  By late afternoon I hated painting and was convinced I'm an idiot with no skill whatsoever.  I was charming and fun to be around, let me tell you.  Or maybe I wasn't.  What a rollercoaster ride.  Why is this art thing so wrought with emotion? I'm usually one of the least temperamental people around, but I get freaked out by the ups and downs of creating artistically now and then, too.  Why do I even do this painting thing?  I guess if I'm truthful, it's because it makes me happy.

Liking this process so far, but thinking I want the flower shapes to be eye popping, not subtle.

Wait, I just pointed out how it makes me crazy and then said it makes me happy.  Sounds a bit like love, doesn't it?  Oh.  Wait.  It is love, and I'm in it for better or worse.  I love painting and so I will continue to include it in my life.  I realized I needed some balance and closed the studio door behind me for the day.  

And the over-painted result that caused all the despair and drama in my studio. I'll finish it, but only for what I can learn from it.

This morning I sat down with my journal to see what I could work out, and here's what I came up with-  Recently my husband and I decided to make our lives simpler.  I quit my job, he's remodeling our tiny Arizona house so that we can reduce our lifestyle and we are hoping to live off of what we create.  In other words, I'm gearing up to make and sell art.  I think I let that freak me out a bit with my poppy attempts.  I've realized that I can't paint to sell.  I have to paint from love and if it sells then I'm blessed.  If it doesn't, I still have something I made from my heart. That takes so much pressure off and I know the way to handle poppies will come to me, complete and right for my hands to make.  And I love that.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

Pinterest and Other Nightmares

What a title, eh?  Actually, I love Pinterest.  There are so many wonderful and inspiring things to see and learn there.  Here's the problem; I am very computer literate and have stayed on top of technology and its use for working efficiently, but I have not stayed fluent in "internet." And believe me, there is a difference.  I'm in a pretty wide gap between making spreadsheets and connecting one's blog, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and whatever other cool thing to each other.  And getting through the tutorials that abound out there is where the nightmares begin.  They are written for Mommy Bloggers who never got left behind by the cyber world while they worked 50 hours a week and turned into grandmothers like I have!  I didn't have time to stay on top of all of that, I barely managed to keep my teeth clean. When do these cyber-savvy girls sleep?  Oh, yeah, they have kids- they aren't sleeping anyway.  

However, all of that is changing.  This left-behind-and-out-of-date-grandmother is learning some new things, albeit slowly and painfully, but learning none the less.  I did manage to Tweet from my blog, but it showed up on my Facebook page.  I also created a pin on Pinterest which also somehow showed up on my Facebook page.  ((Sigh...)) Did I mention the painful part?  I need a teenager to come take my frail, little old hand and lead me shuffling into the light.  Too bad I'm fresh out of teenagers.  Okay, actually, it's not too bad- I couldn't have raised one. more. teen.  Six was plenty.

This image is from ResearchGate

So far, I'm on day 3 of learning all of this internet stuff and not painting.  Maybe I should back off and let it sift slowly into my conscience awareness like fairy dust and pick up my brushes.  In the meantime, if you are a Pinterest user look me up.  It's a real catchy title, Alice Jo Webb.  Same one you'll find me under on Instagram.  I have no idea what my Twitter name is, I deleted it months ago when it started pinging all the time and drove me crazy.  When I figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know!  While you're at it, look for the little red P at the bottom of this page and pin me to your Pinterest page.  Like an insect you're collecting.  I'd be grateful!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice    

Violet

It has taken nearly 2 weeks to finish this one up, but finally this morning I managed to get it done. We are in the middle of a remodel and move, so painting time is still hard to come by. However, it will not always be so. Painting over a grisaille is fun for me and this piece is no exception.

20" × 14" on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper.

Prickly Pear Shadows

It's not often lately that the time and the desire to paint happen at the same time, but that blessed day arrived- at last!  There are many changes happening in our lives that have kept me on the run both physically and mentally and painting time has been scarce.  It was so lovely to be working in the studio today.

Prickly Pear Cacti bear their fruit in summer, so the light is intense and the shadows are dark and deep.  My favorite! 

Since I enjoyed painting a Grisaille Agave so much I have been wanting to try it with a prickly pear cactus as well.  By the time it was drawn out with the mask applied and all the black ink added, the day was about over, but adding the color is the fun part so I'll be chomping at the bit to get back to it soon.

Thanks for stopping by!  Alice

Minimalism Isn't For Sissies

Everywhere I turn these days I am seeing posts and articles about decluttering my life, home, office- you name it- and living a minimalistic life.  I love the idea, in fact, we are trying to get ready to cut down from a 2,000 square foot home with an acre and a half of garden and outbuildings to a 900 square foot house with no outbuildings.  A fabulous concept!  The more I study the notion, the more converted I become.

This is what decluttering looks like??  Sunny afternoon, some great music and some chocolate to smooth the road- what a nice way to spend Saturday! Let's do this "thang." 

The minimalist champions make it seem so and simple.  It's the pathway to happiness; just toss out all the stuff you don't absolutely love- say, in one afternoon- and Ta Da, you have an easier, happier life. Where do I sign up? Here's where I signed up- my house. Rats.  Not the Pinterest world, nor the Better Homes and Gardens world either.  Darn it.  It's actually more like the-Clampetts-are-doing-Spring-cleaning-world, and they are mortified at how much junk they have.  Not to mention dust.  Really, let's not mention it...

If you know me well, you'll know this reduction in clothes is shocking.  And, it's still like this a whole week later! I'm so proud. And surprised.   

Today I began tackling my studio.  Last week was my closet.  That was fun, this was horrid!  Just because one has an empty spot on a shelf or under a desk doesn't mean one must fill it up, trust me on this.  Don't know what to do with that little packet of paper scraps someone gave you? If you're like me, tuck that sucker out of sight and get on with the business of life.  Genius.  Till it's time to decide whether it's worth keeping.  This is not easy, as the terrible question arises, "What if I toss it out and then one of these days need an entire packet of tiny paper scraps?"

THIS.  This is actually what decluttering looks like.  It's ugly, it's mean and just gets worse the harder one works. The deeper I digs, the more I finds!  

My brother-in-law is a wonderfully practical man.  His answer to my question about that dratted packet of paper would be, "Oh no, and then what?"  Oh, right.  I'd cut up some more and all would be right with the world.  Okay, this brings everything back down to size.  So what?  Just because I possess something doesn't mean it gets to own me. Even art supplies, and that's big, kiddos.  

So, I did conquer the studio part of the room.  The computer desk in the corner, however...  another day.  

Although I've only conquered two of the 10 rooms I have to complete, I have to admit I am feeling lighter.  What will life be like with only half of my possessions to be slave to?  Will I want to cut down some more?  WHAT IF THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF MY OWN, PERSONAL WALDEN?  Cool.  Maybe I don't hate cleaning and sorting after all.  Okay, I still do, but let's just say it's probably worth it.


Thanks for stopping by! Alice

  

My Travel Art Kit To The Rescue, Sort Of

Friday evening my husband and I were hauling a load of stuff to Arizona, him in front towing our camp trailer and me behind in my car.  Just before we got to the crazy switchbacks on what our grandkids call, "oh no, not the sick road!" the ball joint on his truck failed and his front wheel came off!  At 55 miles per hour, that is a scary event.

Miraculously, the truck landed on its own tire.  The only other casualty was a missing tail light- he was blessed for sure.   

Without all the boring details, I'll just say it turned in to a long evening/night waiting for our help to arrive.  While my man prepared the truck for towing, something I swear he enjoyed once the shock wore off, I dug out my trusty travel kit full of art supplies and settled down to draw.  After I realized all would be okay, I have to admit the thought of enforced quiet time gave me a thrill.  I hid it well, but now you know.  That's how crazy life has been- a catastrophe was the only way to get a little quiet time.  My husband's beloved truck has a disaster and all I can think is, "At last, some peace and quiet!" I'm awful, I know...

The one thing I managed to get into my sketch journal.  

Quiet time, did I say? We just happened to break down right in front of the spot a hermit chose to live/camp, one with no car and no close neighbors for company and plenty to visit about, including, ironically, how he loved living in the middle of no place, away from people with his (lonesome) dog.  His VERY lonesome dog. My poor husband bore the brunt of it because, like the supportive wife I am, I snuck off to the car to hide.  However, I did get in one fast sketch of the countryside around us to remind me of the close call my sweetheart had and the very social, unsocial man with the insistent doggie.

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Seeds And Cells

This was a liberating painting to create.  I drew what I felt like, put what ever color where and how I wanted it and enjoyed the process.  Hmm, sounds like a good recipe for every painting!

Seeds and Cells
Watercolor on paper
14" x 20"

As I painted, I thought about spring, new life, new beginnings and the ever rolling current of growth and change that flows through all of us.  Even though life is an ever changing pattern, there are cycles that are never changing, like seasons and tides, the turning of the earth and death and renewal.  I rather enjoyed this.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice

Zentangle With Watercolor

Several years ago I taught zentangle to my middle school aged students.  I really enjoyed the unstructured nature of it.  Basically,  it's just doodling- you know, like you used to do instead of paying attention in school.  Who knows why I haven't played with it more, but I didn't till now. 

As this has grown and traveled across the paper, it needed an egg.  There are seeds and seedlings, it needed an egg.  Maybe it's spring peeking around the corner, at least in my little corner of the world.  Growth, renewal- how artsy fartsy can I get?  So, I got an egg.

Recently I started messing around on a spare piece of watercolor paper when I wanted to be in the studio but didn't have time to get into a painting.  I've just added to it as I felt the urge and didn't worry about a theme or what direction it was taking.  I am in love with the idea of working in free manner, of letting an idea evolve on paper instead of planning every. last. detail out first.  Who knows, I may be on to something?  Whatever it is I'm doing, I am looking forward to adding bright, loud color to it.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice 

Dignified, A Grisaille Landscape

Using a grisaille underpainting not only makes for an interesting look, it pretty much gets the majority of the work of a painting out of the way in the first stages, at least in watercolor.  Drawing and laying down the underpainting of this took much more time than adding the color did.  

Before I began this morning I washed the paper with yellow ochre to tone it and help the painting have unity.

For several days I've been pondering on how I wanted the finished piece to look.  What made this subject interesting to my eyes was all the peeling metal and the wood underneath the old buildings; the tiny details.  I've also been thinking on my desire to suggest foliage rather than trying to render it in perfect detail and decided that I could add little details to the building shapes and just suggest the foreground and background.  I'm much happier with the results than some of my other landscapes.  

Dignified, watercolor on cold pressed Arches paper, 16" x 20"

So, here stands the finished piece.  Adding colors to it took about 2 hours from toning the paper to the last brush stroke.  I like working this way, like the contrast between the soft foreground and sky against the hard edges of the building shapes and like working over well defined light and shadow shapes.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Alice  

Landscape With Grisaille

Ever since I finished the painting Agave Grisaille, I've been itching to try it again on a landscape.  Last weekend I finally began that process.  I'd like this piece to be a bit moody and subdued, so after the ink has been laid down to my satisfaction I will tone the paper as well. 

Beginning this painting with a black to grey tone underneath might add a distinct look to it.  May not, too.  We shall see!

Since I'm using pen and ink along with brushing on the Higgins pigmented ink in my under-painting, I guess it's a mixed medium piece and not purely watercolor.  It really doesn't matter what it's called though, I'm just excited to see what this turns out like.  Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Drawing Angles, My Version

While travelling through South Dakota this past December, we came upon what to me was the perfect grain elevator.  My favorite of all the delicious old grain elevators I've ever seen.  It was far too complicated to sit and draw out on the spot in the few minutes we had to spend there, so I took several photos of it and we hit the road again.  It's such a bummer to travel on a schedule.  

My photo, printed in black and white, trimmed and ready to refer to.

Since then I have gone back to look at those pictures often, wishing I could spend a few days in that lonely, abandoned place. Since that's not possible, I finally decided to work from a photo and see if I could reproduce the feelings I had there.  Not ideal, but better than nothing.  Besides, the little painting I did last week helped me work out a plan and it's time to get after it.   

These are my building drawing tools- different types of rulers give me options when finding the right angles to draw.

Because I like my paintings to begin with original drawings, I had a problem. This old building has been added on to so many times that there were about a billion planes and angles to sketch out. So, I began by printing out a picture and tracing the outside lines with black pen so I could clearly see them.  Then I cut out a section to easier measure the angles with my rulers.  If I keep the print on the lines I put on the paper, I can hold a ruler to the angle I'm trying to understand and slide it to the place I want to draw. 

The t-squared ruler is my favorite for getting everything lined up the way I want it.

  

What I get is an approximation of the building in the photo, but not a picture perfect version, which is what I'm after.  If I get too picky then I find myself tied to the photo and get all uptight about copying it exactly.  Printing it in black and white frees me from worrying about getting the color "right" as well.  The drawing is my own and I'm free to choose whatever colors I want.  The picture is only a reference point.

Now that the basic shapes are in place, I can erase all of the lines I don't need, and free-hand the rest of the composition.  Too bad I'm out of sick leave at work!  I'd much rather be in the studio today.  

Of course, now I have an eraser job to do because I drew it all out on the watercolor paper.  Like a genius.  However, I am getting excited to start dropping in the colors, so I will think about that while I erase.  To me, part of the fun of this process is thinking about what the next steps will be- the anticipation of it all.  So, here I go, anticipating!

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Somewhere In South Dakota

Don't you just hate it when your internal alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. on days you could have slept in a bit?  This morning I just gave up and came out to the studio.  In keeping with my attempts to work simple, see shapes and paint fast, I sketched out my composition with little detail and waded in.  

Somewhere in South Dakota
Watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper
7" x 10"

It took an hour and a half and kinda looks like it, too.  However, the goal in my mind won't happen without a lot of work, and that's just what this is; another bit of work.  I know it'll add up to new ideas and inspiration at some point.  

Thanks for stopping by- Alice

Mule Creek Ruin

This work week has been filled with drama and stress.  Fairly normal week.  I think I need my head examined.  So, I came out to the studio to look over projects past and future- just to get a chance to soak up some peace and quiet and hopefully find a bit of inspiration for what I'm trying to accomplish out here, which is learning to simplify my work.

Where this thing stood for nearly a year after I realized the black resist lines wouldn't hold the wet dyes back like I had hoped- so much for dropping in dyes. Nothing is ever REALLY as easy as it is in my imagination.

A little over a year ago I tried an experiment with the same goal in mind and really enjoyed the project.  You can read about its beginnings HERE.  Working with fabric medium, Jacquard Dyes and Derwent's Inktense pencils I thought I'd see what I could do with basic shapes and color on a piece of muslin bedsheet.  After quite a bit of trial and error, I came up with a piece I quite liked.  Since that time, I've tried to quilt it with no success.  The painted fabric is just too stiff to allow for hand-quilting, darn it.  I've set it aside until I can find a quilting foot for my old sewing machine.

Mule Creek Ruin with all the color on and pinned down, ready to quilt.  I used Derwent's Inktense pencils and sticks on it with fabric medium and gained a whole lot more control over the colors.   

I'm showing an unfinished project for a reason, however.  If I could see and express myself in basic shapes when I was using an unfamiliar medium, why do I struggle so to paint them in watercolor?  As I'm sitting across the room from this- whatever you call it- (textile?) piece, I'm trying to understand why I get so involved in minute detail when I am painting.  So far, I still have no idea.  But looking at it has calmed my heart a bit and helped me see that what I'm striving to do is possible.  And for tonight, that'll have to do.

Thanks for stopping by- Alice